


Calling the Shots

by PonderingFool



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, F/F, Horde Adora (She-Ra), Memory Alteration, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-22 23:30:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19139035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderingFool/pseuds/PonderingFool
Summary: In the span of only a single week, Catra had gotten everything she ever wanted.Unfortunately, there were still problems for her to deal with; primarily in the form of unresolved feelings for a certain blonde traitor who couldn't even remember she was a traitor.Adora Mind-Wipe AU





	Calling the Shots

" _Leave us._ "

Even by the standards of her usual no-nonsense demeanour, Shadow-Weaver uttered those words with such venom Catra was surprised the two guards didn't double-over and die on the spot. Unfortunately, as soon as they had finished their salute and hurried out of the Black Garnet Sanctum, Shadow-Weaver's attention fell onto her and in a none too pleasant way.

"Report to the Force Captain barracks and  _pack your things_. Now that Adora is back, there's no need for you there." the sorceress stated, leaning forward condescendingly and getting into the now former Force Captain's face to make the point even more bluntly as Catra's heart sank into her stomach with the weight of her anger and disappointment.

"Seriously? After  _everything_ I've done for you, it's still her you want?"

"I said  _go!_ " Shadow-Weaver bellowed, grabbing the feline by her arm and throwing her towards the door. Catra turned back for just a brief moment and met Adora's gaze, pondering what she should do as the blond looked at her with some mixture of sadness and concern; on the one hand, the tender mercies of Shadow-Weaver were highly unpleasant even on a day-to-day basis, as she knew first hand. Whatever the sorceress was going to do that would end with Adora rejoining the Horde and taking back her place as Force Captain would be downright torturous, and the two had been the best of friends once.

Ultimately, however, it's that last word that decides for her; they had been the best of friends  _once_. Adora had chosen her fate when she left the Horde, when she  _abandoned her_ and joined a doomed rebellion for the sake of some random Princess and soldier she'd only known for a few hours.

 _"And besides, she never had a problem leaving_ me  _to Shadow-Weaver."_ Catra thinks to herself as she turns and leaves the room, but not before shooting one last smouldering glare at the traitor. Adora can only steel herself as the door closes, knowing that in her current predicament she only has one course of action available to her.

"Shadow-Weaver, I'll stay here with you willingly but you have to let Glimmer go first." she stated bluntly, not at all afraid to sacrifice herself for a friend.

Shadow-Weaver's initial gut reaction is to reject the offer, knowing that she has the power to make Adora stay  _and_ keep the Princess for ransom. However, as the Bright Moon Princess weakly protests Adora's statement, it occurs to the Sorceress that the ritual will take time, time that could very easily be wasted in the very likely scenario that the Rebels running around the Fright Zone did something to interrupt her, especially since Adora had likely come up with a back-up plan. Deciding that it was worth sacrificing a Bishop to take a Rook, Shadow-Weaver wordlessly disables the bindings holding Glimmer and delivers her ultimatum.

"Very well. Princess of Bright Moon, you are to leave the Fright Zone immediately and take your little rescue party with you. Do not even think about coming back here." she says, placing on Adora's forehead and sending jolts of fel magic throughout her body, causing the blonde to cry out in pain.

"Because if you don't leave this place within the next fifteen minutes, there won't be anything left of your precious She-Ra left for you to find." the Sorceress uttered with as much venom as she can muster, hoping that the empty threat combined with Adora's pain will be enough to cow the Princess into fleeing.

"Glimmer, you need to go." Adora pleaded through gritted teeth.

"But I can't just leave you-"

" _Glimmer_ , it's okay..." Adora whispered, managing a reassuring smile despite the pain.

Defeated, humiliated, and utterly powerless to change the situation, Glimmer runs out of the room, a look of shame clear on her face for all to see. Shadow-Weaver, on the other hand, smiles with utter glee behind her mask as she places a hand briefly on the Black Garnet and begins to siphon off enough power to fill her only moderately-depleted energy, knowing that the spell she was about to cast would be a draining one.

"I will stay Shadow-Weaver, but there is no way that I will ever serve the Horde again." Adora declared firmly, with whatever amount of bravado she can muster up while strapped to a table at Shadow-Weaver's mercy.

"Oh, but you will Adora, because I am going to  _wipe your mind_."

It takes only a brief moment for Adora's expression to change from stubborn defiance to absolute terror as she began to desperately tug at the restraints binding her limbs.

"You will have no memory of She-Ra or the time you spent with the Rebellion. Everything will be as it was." Shadow-Weaver said happily as her hands begin to spark with red lightning.

"As for the Princess..." she continued, staring deep into Adora's fearful eyes as she places her hands on either side of the blonde's head. "You'll be happy to burn Bright Moon to the ground to get her  _back_."

* * *

Only a few minutes after leaving Shadow-Weaver's sanctum, Catra runs into Princess Sparkles near one of the exits. In her current state recapturing her wouldn't be hard at all, but the fact that she managed to escape in the first place probably meant that Shadow-Weaver had let her go, and likely because a certain chronically altruistic blonde had bartered for her freedom.

Bitterly pushing that thought out of her mind, Catra decides to let Glimmer go and even hands over She-Ra's sword to boot. It's more out of spite than anything else; one last act of defiance to get back at Shadow-Weaver. No-one other than Adora can use the damn thing anyway, but if Shadow-Weaver wants to take credit for  _her_ achievements, then she can also explain to Hordak how the Princess they were ransoming had managed to not only escape, but also reclaimed the sword.

No-one hears from Shadow-Weaver until noon the next day when she puts out a summons, calling for all Force Captains  _and Catra_ to report to the medical bay immediately, a distinction that leaves the feline seething internally and not at all helped by the fact that other Horde soldiers weren't exactly subtle with their gossiping and laughing at her expense as she walked past them. No doubt this was a deliberate public humiliation on Shadow-Weaver's part, but that was the least of Catra's worries considering yesterday's events.

Walking into the Medical Bay shouldn't have been a stressful experience, but the atmosphere of the room was oppressive and thick with Shadow-Weaver's magic, both her and the Force Captains beset pitch-black shadows that shifted aggressively as if they were poised to attack. Shadow-Weaver herself stood next to one of the beds, a glare on her face that left even Catra unwilling to act disrespectful in even the slightest way. And of course, lying on the aforementioned bed was Adora; unconscious but  _seemingly_ unharmed, not that signs of physical harm were a necessary indicator of Shadow-Weaver's punishments.

"As you are all well aware, an infiltration force from the Rebellion broke into the Fright Zone yesterday. They managed to escape with the Princess."

'Managed to escape with the princess'. Catra almost wanted to laugh out loud at her recounting of yesterday's events, but considering Shadow-Weaver's current demeanour such an act would've been nigh-suicidal.

"However, despite this loss, we made one very crucial gain..." she began, gently brushing a stray hair behind Adora's ear.

"I have wiped the last six months from Adora's memory entirely; when she wakes up, she will have no memory of her time with the Rebellion, her time as She-Ra, or any of her reasons for defecting." the sorceress concluded, pausing to allow the Force Captains to digest the implications of that statement. Catra, in particular, was all but floored by the revelation and completely unable to decide how to feel about it; elation at the idea that things could go back to how they were between them tempered by the gnawing resentment born from her initial betrayal and the fact that she was being forced back into in her shadow despite everything she'd accomplished.

Hell, even the fact that Shadow-Weaver was openly saying that Adora was She-Ra was odd. Calling it an 'open secret' would be far too generous, but Shadow-Weaver had proven to react rather...' violently' when anyone openly acknowledged it to be the case.

"In a few days, she will wake up and reclaim her place among you as Force Captain, and when she does the official story will be that she suffered a serious head injury leading attempted to liberate what seemed to be a civilian village. Unfortunately, the 'peaceful civilians' turned out to be trained in guerilla warfare and took advantage of Adora's kindness and ambushed her forces under the guise of peaceful negotiations, placing a curse on her mind that would've left her in a coma forever if it weren't for  _my_ magical expertise."

Shadow-Weaver sure was hitting all the beats on this one; the dastardly Rebellion taking advantage of 'sweet, trusting' Adora and defeating her with cheap, underhanded tactics demonstrating that even civilians couldn't be trusted and saved only by Shadow-Weaver herself. It was almost enough to make Catra yak up a hairball.

 "I will be spending the next few days altering the records to match this account of events. You will make sure that those serving under you are made aware of the circumstances surrounding Adora's return to the Horde. Oh, and rest assured, if any of you say or do  _anything_ that would potentially indicate to her that something is amiss, the consequences will be  _severe_. And if any of your subordinates do anything of the sort, I will be holding  _you_ equally culpable for their actions. Am. I. _Understood_?"

Catra wasn't particularly phased by that particular threat; it wasn't as if Shadow-Weaver had said worse to her on a near-daily basis. Everyone else in the room, however, could only manage a terrified nod.

"Good. Force Captain Dylamug I need you to fetch me Adora's medical record. Force Captain Dragstor, you will be in charge of directing the Horde's military endeavours in my absence and  _Catra..."_ the sorceress chortled, very clearly pleased with the obvious fury Catra felt at being reminded of her recent demotion. "You will stay here. We need to talk."

It didn't take long for everyone to file out of the room after that, at which point the already menacing shadows encroached even further as any sign of amicability disappeared from Shadow-Weaver's posture.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you how I feel about your relationship with Adora."

"Pfft, there's nothing you could say you haven't said like fifty times already. Why don't you just wipe me from her mind if you care that much?"

"Oh if only it were that simple.  _Unfortunately_ , erasing all her memories of you would result in resetting her to childhood." the sorceress sighed wearily. "If only I'd noticed sooner, things would've been so much easier, but alas."

"Yeah, did you keep me here just so you can tell me something you've already said to me every week for years? Cause if you are, I'm just gonna-"

 _"Silence!_ I kept you here because the only reason I have  _tolerated_ you for as long as I have is that Adora cared about you and because I did not want to drive a wedge between myself and her by treating you the way I _should_ have. But the situation is different now; if you give me even the slightest reason to think that being around you will compromise the spell, I will not hesitate to banish you to  _Beast Island._ " Shadow-Weaver hissed, taking a moment to relish the rare look of genuine fear on Catra's face. "Dismissed.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, a whole day of mockery over her recent demotion had left Catra in a rather foul mood. Hushed, judgmental whispers, mocking laughter, and insulting jeers lay around every corner of the Fright Zone. While the knowledge that Shadow-Weaver was looking for any reason to get rid of her for good was enough to keep her from lashing out for the most part, but it was only a matter of time before something pushed her past breaking point.

Said thing came in the locker room, after combat practice, in the form of a harsh tug on her tail.

Yelping in pain, Catra shoved her assailant away before turning around rapidly, finding herself face-to-face with a rather smug-looking Lonnie.

"What's wrong?  _Cat_ got your tongue?" she chuckled, somehow managing to derive amusement from that 'completely original' joke that Catra certainly had never heard at any other point in her life.

"What the hell's your problem?" the feline snarled.

"Oh Catra, Catra,  _sweet, dumb Catra,_ " Lonnie said drolly, immediately clueing Catra in on where this conversation was going. "I just wanted to check up on you. I mean, getting  _demoted?_ That's gotta be pretty harsh."

"Just shut up and go away, would you?"

"Or what, you'll fight me? I wonder how Shadow-Weaver would react if you started getting into fights only a  _single day_ after getting demoted. I can't imagine she'd be too pleased with that..."

With all urge to fight knocked out of her with that one line, Catra could only storm off from the locker room to go to one of her usual corners of the Fright Zone where she could be alone.

"Hey come on, don't worry about it Catra. In a few days, you can go back to hiding behind Adora. You know, just like you used to." Lonnie called out, the memory of Shadow-Weaver's threat the only thing stopping Catra from sending her to the medical bay.

* * *

What had begun as the second worst week of Catra's life took a sudden and extremely positive turn when she received a summons from Lord Hordak the very next day; as bad as the last two days had been, seeing Shadow-Weaver isolated and standing before a very visibly pissed off Hordak was on definitely an amazing spirit booster, and as she took a spot in the room next to Scorpia, her day would only get even better.

"Welcome,  _Force Captain_ Catra." Hordak said, making certain to emphasise the title, much to Catra's delight and Shadow-Weaver's obvious displeasure.

"Milord-"

" _Silence Shadow-Weaver!_ I do not recall permitting you to revoke the authority of those promoted in rank by  _my_ authority."

"But Milord, she is not needed as Force Captain now that Adora is back."

"Ah yes,  _Adora_ _._ I spend two days focusing on my experiments, and in my absence not only did you lose the Princess known as Glimmer, but I learn that  _you've known that Adora was She-Ra all along._ "

"He didn't _know?!_ " Catra whispered to Scorpia, unable to suppress a giggle at how utterly screwed Shadow-Weaver was. Hell, it even made Shadow-Weaver's behaviour regarding She-Ra's existence this last few months hilarious in retrospect.

"Now you see why I felt it was so important to bring her ba-"

" _All you did"_ Hordak began as Catra giggled once more at Shadow-Weaver's reaction to being cut off. "Was invite attack from an enemy combatant with  _detailed knowledge_ of our operations. If I had known, I would've ordered you to have her  _killed._ I have half a mind to make you do it anyway." he stated bluntly, and all of a sudden Catra finds the fact that Shadow-Weaver kept that information hidden from him significantly less amusing.

"Milord please, you know as well as I do that Adora is too talented to be wasted-"

"And what good is that talent, when she betrays out forces for the Rebellion within  _48 hours of being promoted to Force Captain?!"_

"I assure you, Milord, I have taken the necessary precautions to ensure that such an event never happens again."

"And I am aware that these precautions consist of a memory alteration spell, for which you had to deliver an Army-wide mandate that no member of our forces say anything to her that would hint at her activities these last few months for risk that the spell would be broken. Your assurances leave me cold, Shadow-Weaver."

"It is not that the spell would be broken, I just-"

"Shadow-Weaver, if you cannot give me one good reason to keep her alive,  _I will kill Adora myself._ "

"Lord Hordak," Catra said, knowing that Shadow-Weaver was one poorly thought out sentence away from getting her best friend killed. "If I may, I actually have some experience with dealing with She-Ra. I would've liked to inform you of the truth sooner, but Shadow-Weaver saw to it that I never had the opportunity to do so," she explained, needing to establish a basis for her coming reasoning while also making sure Hordak didn't skin her alive for not speaking the truth earlier. Besides, she wasn't one to waste an opportunity to make Shadow-Weaver's life harder.

"The sword induces some kind of transformation, turning Adora into She-Ra. However, it seems as if the sword only works for her; no-one else is capable of transforming into She-Ra. As long as Adora is alive, there will be no She-Ra, whereas if we kill her, it's highly likely that someone else in the Rebellion would be able to do it as well."

Thankfully, her explanation seemed to have been satisfactory as Hordak's expression softened ever so slightly.

"Well reasonedForce Captain. However, if keeping Adora alive is all it takes to keep She-Ra out of the Rebellion's hands, then why should I not imprison her or have her banished to Beast Island and be done with the matter."

It was a question to which Catra was lost for words. Luckily, Shadow-Weaver managed to make herself useful for once and reasoned that Adora could still be used in ways that kept her off the front lines and by her side, where there would be no risk of her deserting back to the Rebellion.

"I will give you this one chance Shadow-Weaver, but be forewarned. If Adora defects once more, I will have  _your_ head as well as hers. Force Captains, you are dismissed. You, Shadow-Weaver, will stay. We need to discuss your recent performance as Force Commander."

* * *

Truth be told, this whole 'hack the planet' idea still seemed insane, but if Entrapta said she could turn the Black Garnet into a weapon, and an explosive one at that, then who was Catra to turn her down? What's more, she had promised the princess that she would get her access to the Black Garnet, and not only did Catra know exactly how to do that, but it was the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

"Lord Hordak, I-"

"I know why you are here, Force Captain. Your plan has potential, the Black Garnet is yours to do with as you please."

"Oh, uhh..." Catra stammered, the conversation having gone much, much easier than she anticipated.

"Is something wrong, Force Captain?"

"Uhh, No Lord Hordak. I just wasn't expecting you to agree so readily. After all, Shadow-Weaver-"

"The Black Garnet is _not_ Shadow-Weaver's. It is  _mine,_ to give and take as I please; the princess' theory is sound and I am intrigued, but more importantly, have grown  _weary_ of Shadow-Weaver's... _skewed priorities,_ and she has long since ceased to provide any meaningful results as either a Sorceress or as Force Commander." he spoke bitterly, clearly no more fond of Shadow-Weaver than Catra was.

"I have been looking to replace her for a long time, but the lack of worthwhile candidates has stifled my efforts. Adora showed promise, but she can no longer be trusted," he explained, descending from his throne to stand in front of Catra directly. "But you have shown much potential since your promotion to Force Captain. Do well now, and the position may be yours."

Perhaps for the first time in her entire life, Catra found herself utterly speechless. Lord Hordak was offering her everything she'd ever wanted on a silver platter; control over the entire Horde, no more Shadow-Weaver, and the ability to step out of Adora's shadow forever, and all she had to do was make better use of the Black Garnet than Shadow-Weaver had.

"Thank you Lord Hordak. I won't let you down."

"For your sake, I'd hope not. I have grown  _very weary_ of failure and mediocrity these last few years. You will not be given the leniency that Shadow-Weaver was."

"I won't need it."

* * *

It would be lying to say that Catra hadn't been nervous returning to Hordak, the implicit threats from their last encounter firmly etched into her mind. However, having come closer to ending the Rebellion in a single day than Shadow-Weaver had in over two decades, leaving the Whispering Woods in ruin and the Rebellion on its death bed was far from mediocre, and it seemed that Hordak knew that as well.

"Very well, Force  _Commander_ Catra. You will have other chances to prove your worth as my second-in-command."

* * *

Merely walking around the halls of the Fright Zone since leaving Hordak's throne room produced an intoxicating power-trip that Catra was already growing to love. Everyone she walked past, from the lowliest guard to even the Force Captains stopped and salute, even those who had in the past made a point of mocking her or dismissing her as a waste of space; even if they very noticeably resented having to treat her with respect, they no longer had the choice in the matter.

 _"And this is where the fun begins..."_ Catra thought to herself gleefully. She was not so vain or foolish as to think this was all that there would be to being Force Commander. Hell, Hordak expecting a detailed plan of attack to deal with the Rebellion by tomorrow was just the beginning. But Hordak had told her that she was free to indulge in whatever proclivities she wanted as long as they weren't detrimental the Horde's war efforts, and if there was one thing Catra had gotten over the course of her life, it was a mile-long shit-list that she now had all the power in the world to do something with.

In fact, there was one person, in particular, that Catra was looking to mess with right now.

Finding Lonnie wasn't too hard, her reaction to being found was much the same as all the others who had mistreated her over the years; a forced salute combined with the expression of someone who knew that they were completely and utterly screwed.

"Oh Lonnie, Lonnie, _sweet, dumb, stupid, brainless Lonnie,_ " Catra said drolly, casually slinging an arm around Lonnie's shoulders. "Relax, I'm not here to mess with you or anything."

It was a lie, obviously, and Lonnie knew it was a lie too. It was, however, extremely amusing to watch Lonnie bite back the urge to start hurling insults.

"I'm here because, as  _Force Commander,_ it's my job to make sure that people are assigned to positions where they can best serve the Horde, and I don't know about you, but I'm thinking you'd be _perfect_ for this," Catra said, handing Lonnie a list of all the most gruelling, humiliating, and boring jobs available for Horde soldiers that were typically handed out as a punishment. "Oh, and you're gonna be assigned to this for a month. You know, just so I can assess your capabilities. Sound good?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lonnie sighed.

"Good. But I dunno if I like your tone cadet. You might wanna work on that if you don't want to get on my bad side" Catra said, cackling as she walked away.

* * *

It was bound to happen eventually; six days after being transferred to the medical bay, Adora wakes up. Catra got the message during a brainstorming session with Scorpia and Entrapta when an orderly came to deliver the news. She made sure to take her sweet time getting to the medical bay, hoping she could get her nerves and feelings in order before the inevitable meeting. Even leaving aside her own mixed feelings over having Adora back, Hordak's words on the subject were still fresh in her mind.

_"Nothing has changed; if you wish to keep Adora, then you will be held equally accountable for her actions."_

No doubt Adora would have to be kept on a tight leash; there was no way Catra was going to lose everything now. Of course, finding excuses to  _keep_ Adora on that leash was going to be difficult. According to the orderly, she was suffering from headaches, so that would work for however long they lasted. Afterwards, however, finding reasons to keep her off the front-lines was going to be...difficult to say the least.

But that was a matter for another day because as soon as Catra found herself at the entrance to the medical bay, she realised that the whole tangent about keeping Adora away from the front-lines was just an excuse to avoid dealing with the fact that she simply didn't know how to feel about Adora being back, a fact that only became more apparent as she entered the medical bay and felt her stomach tie itself into knots at the mere sight of the blonde; sitting on the edge of the bead, dressed in a hospital gown, and massaging her temples wearily.

"Hey Adora."

Even with the context and use of that casual greeting having changed so much over the last six months, only in this moment had the words ever tasted like ash in her mouth.

"Oh, Catra!" she said, flashing that big, dumb grin she always used to wear back before she left, completely oblivious to how much the sight of it stung.

"Been a while, huh?" she continued, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"Yeah, that's one way of putting it..."

"Catra, is something wrong?" she murmured with a look of concern that Catra wanted nothing more than to slap off of her face.

"It's nothing, I'm just tired is all."

"Oh. Well, if you say so..." Adora trailed off, her eyes falling on the badge adorning Catra's chest.

"No _way..._ " she started, as the knots in Catra's stomach tightened even further in preparation for the blonde's reaction.

"You got promoted to  _Force Commander?!_ When?! How?!"

It would've been so much easier if she'd been jealous, angry, or otherwise disappointed. Hell, Catra had been mentally rehearsing an entire speech for this moment to rub salt in Adora's wounds if she had. But looking into her eyes, Catra saw only pure, unadulterated joy and excitement.  _On her behalf._

Maybe all she needed was some prodding.

"Oh, uhh, just yesterday actually. Shadow-Weaver screwed up one too many times and Hordak promoted  _me_ to take her place. Hell, Hordak  _personally_ made me a Force Captain to fill in for you. Jealous?"

"Are you kidding? This is amazing!" Adora exclaimed, pulling the feline into a hug, still free of any signs of jealousy.

"I always knew you had it in you, no matter what Shadow-Weaver or the others said."

It wasn't intended, but that simple expression of support was a punch to the gut worse than anything She-Ra could ever muster. Despite herself, Catra couldn't help but return the affection with a spine-cracking hug of her own, unable to stop herself from tearing up

Because in this moment, none of the last few months events mattered and all of Catra's pent-up resentment melted away in an instant.

All that mattered was that  _Adora was back._

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, causing Catra to realise that the hug had probably gone on a bit too long for plausible deniability.

"I..." the feline started, scrambling to think of a reasonable excuse for her outburst. Even at the best of times, Catra wasn't exactly one to express emotion openly. To do so in the Horde was to demonstrate weakness, and Catra had long since learned that demonstrating weakness could only lead to a miserable experience, from Shadow-Weaver or otherwise.

But then again, maybe just this once. It was Adora after all...

"I missed you."

Thankfully, Adora new her well enough not to make a big deal out of it. "Come on, you only got promoted yesterday, so there's still time to celebrate. We can swipe a few extra nutrient bars and just talk. Like we used to when we were kids."

Well, she might not be jealous, but that didn't mean Catra couldn't flex just a little.

"Are you serious? I'm _Force Commander_ now, I run this place! And the best you can think of is to grab some nutrient bars? Pfft, come on. Lemme show you the perks that come with the job." she bragged, taking Adora by the hand and leading her out of the medical bay, thinking to herself that maybe this would work out fine after all.


End file.
